The US defense secretary and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of the US military Gen. Joseph Dunford are expected to kick off their visit to Pakistan earlier next week and in December.

According to the local media reports, Mattis is expected to arrive to Islamabad early next week while Gen. Dunford will likely arrive in the first week of the coming month.

The two top US defense are expected to hold talks with the Pakistani officials aimed at attracting the cooperation of the country in the fight against terrorism and Taliban.

The two key US defence officials are likely to ask Pakistan to eliminate the Haqqani Network which, they claim, still has hideouts in Fata and uses them for launching attacks into Afghanistan, according to Dawn News.

The Afghan and US officials have long been insisting that the leadership councils of the Taliban and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network are based in the key cities of Pakistan where from they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.

This comes as the US congress last week passed a new amended bill regarding Pakistan and the notorious Haqqani network restricting the future military aid to Pakistan to actions against the terror network.

Passed on Thursday evening, the bill includes $700 billion for the US defense needs for the year 2018 as well as $700 million on Coalition Support Fund for Pakistan.

However, the US Congress has said half of the funds from the Coalition Support Fund amounting to $350 million will be withheld and will be released only when the US defense secretary certifies Pakistan’s steps against the Haqqani terrorist network.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials on Sunday confirmed the Afghan security forces have taken delivery of 495 new armored personnel carriers from the United States.

MoD spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri said the Afghan national defense and security forces continue to receive new modern equipment as part of the ongoing efforts to bolster their capabilities.

He said the Afghan security forces have received new batches of weaponry as well as 495 new armored personnel carriers from the United States.

Gen. Waziri further added that the weapons and vehicles will be used by the Afghan commandos, 201st,203rd, 205th, and 209th Corps of the Afghan military.

According to Gen. Waziri, the new equipment personnel carriers have been delivered with an aim to further boost the capabilities of the Afghan armed forces to suppress the insurgency of the enemies of the country.

The ministry of defense officials are saying that the Afghan government with the support of its international allies continue to take important steps in implementing the four-year development plan of the Afghan national defense and security forces.

Gen. Waziri says the Afghan forces are expecting to receive new batches of more sophisticated and modern equipment in the future.

For the first time the sophisticated US fighter jets, F-22s, have joined the air campaign of the Afghan and US forces in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.

The Afghan air force led the strikes yesterday with A-29 Super Tucano attacks against drug labs and then, last night, they were supported by U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses and other strike aircraft, to include the F-22 Raptor, the general said.

According to the top US commander, the terrorists are increasingly turning to narcotics trafficking as well as illegal mining, kidnapping and murder for hire to fund their insurgency, Nicholson said.

“To some extent it’s fair to say that this movement has evolved into a narco-insurgency so their profits from narcotics now exceed their operating expenses,” he said. “We find that the leadership of the Taliban fight over the money and it’s often divided along tribal lines.”